Stark Saviors
by AdvancedAlto
Summary: Team STRQ ended up a failure. Finding himself in the past, Jaune takes the opportunity to fix things, joining them in a fight for their world. Alongside an unexpected ally, they're Remnant's saviors. The Stark Saviors.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome, dear RWBY fanfiction readers, to Stark Saviors. After my failed attempt to write a RWBY story during the summer, where I lost any interest in the idea not long after getting started, this one resonates far more with me, so I told myself I'd stick with this one, no matter how long it took to get anywhere. Though I'm sure you don't wanna hear anymore, so intead, let's gets on with story. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

He jumped backwards as the large sword struck the ground where he had stood a second ago. He aimed a kick for the hands holding the sword, but his opponent pulled back before he could land it.

"Not bad, but not good enough," Qrow noted, holding his sword at the ready as he waited for him to move again. "Your defence is strong, but show me that you can actually fight someone."

Jaune didn't hesitate as he moved in, feinting a two handed strike from the right before he swept his left leg at Qrow's feet. The man jumped slightly, which was what Jaune had hoped for, bringing his sword down on his opponent's shoulder. Before Qrow could anything, looking rather surprised, he dragged Crocea Mors across his chest.

"Go Jaune!" Ruby cheered happily, Qrow stumbling back a little. He chuckled as he watched Jaune.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to cheer for your family?" Qrow asked, his grin gone as he glared at Ruby, who continued to smile. "Whatever. That move wasn't so bad. You're not the fastest, so finding any opportunity to strike is the way to go."

Jaune took the praise in stride, rubbing the back of his head. He knew that Qrow was holding back, since anything else would just end in an embarrassing loss for him.

"Thanks." he said, wondering if training was done. He was proven wrong quickly as Qrow switched his weapon into its gun form and fired a bullet at him, that he easily blocked with his shield.

"So long you're fighting together with someone, you'll be fine with the way you are. Having someone be able to take hits makes any fighting easier, so focus on that." Qrow explained, rushing in a moment later.

"I think Jaune's doing really well," Jaune heard Nora say to Ren, Ruby and Oscar, who were all watching his training, clearly impressed. "Our fearless leader is both fearless and awesome!"

He noticed how Qrow wore a small smile, obviously also listening in to the ongoing conversation. That didn't mean he was any less fierce in a fight, as Jaune barely ducked under a swing that was meant for his head.

"I like my head where it is, thank you very much!" Jaune cried out, attempting to bash his shield into Qrow's face with so little distance between them. The man simply side stepped the attempt, turning Jaune's momentum against him as he made him trip. He could see Qrow already lift his foot before he even hit the ground, so he quickly pulled up his shield as he felt his opponent leg smash against his shield and press him against the ground.

"You look good, lying on the ground like that. Wanna give up?" Ruby booed at Qrow's taunt, but he said nothing as he grinned at him.

"Not happening!" Jaune exclaimed, putting every ounce of his strength in pushing Qrow away. He succeeded, Qrow forced to let up in order to not lose his balance. Already back on his feet, they started circling each other.

"If someone had told you'd improve this much in such a short time, I'd laughed at them. Seems like Ozpin can still see potential as easily as ever." Qrow noted, slowly approaching him. Jaune mirrored him, and once they were close enough they engaged in combat once again. They swung, struck and stabbed with their swords, trying to get a good hit in on the other. What he lacked in speed, he tried to make up for with in raw strength. Between his shield, armor and Aura, taking a hit, or even a number of them was not a big issue. Much to his surprise, after his last swing, Qrow needed to block bullets.

"Ren?" Jaune questioned, glancing as his friend sided up to him on his right, noticing that he was looking to their left. Glancing in the other direction, he saw his other teammate standing at the ready with Magnhild. "Nora?"

"He said you were better when fighting with others, right? Let's show what we're capable of!" Nora declared, spreading her legs apart as she prepared herself for a fight.

"Now, I feel like you three taking me on is a little unfair," Qrow said, though there was denying the grin on his face. "But, if all of you wanna eat dirt, be my guests!"

Ren opened fired with Stormflower, Jaune leading the charge as Nora was right behind him. He met Qrow's blade with his shield, swinging Crocea Mors at the same time. Qrow moved back, jumping over Nora's attempted hit at his legs, spinning his sword as he deflected Ren's cover fire without any issues. It was obvious that Qrow was holding back less than when it was only the two of them, but he didn't doubt that he could beat all of them if he wanted.

"Nora, give him hell." Jaune ordered, grinning right alongside Nora as she transformed Magnhild into its grenade launcher form. At the same he placed Crocea Mors back into its sheath, activating the built in mechanic that would attach the shield to the sword. Not having wasted any time, Jaune was already on the move as Nora fired grenades at Qrow. Ren slid under a swing from Qrow, trying to strike at his knees. Using the distraction presented to him, Jaune swung his now heavier weapon at older man, who had delivered a kick at Ren to keep him away. He had clearly underestimated the force behind the swing, his defence not holding up, leaving him open to one of Nora's grenades. The explosion sent him flying, his body making a satisfying thud as it hit the ground. Thankfully they had moved their training to an open space outside, meaning Nora's grenades wouldn't destroy their temporary abode. More grenades followed, but Qrow recovered and cut any incoming grenade down.

"Oh, fearless leader, what do we do?!" Nora's question was more exaggerated than it needed to be, but Jaune entertained her nonetheless.

"We charge him, Nora," Jaune responded, sword pointed at Qrow. "Ren, try and pin him down."

With Nora at his side, they went right back into the fray. A swing of Magnhild was followed by a thrust from Crocea Mors, with the gunfire of Stormflower mixed in between. Jaune always tried to defend Nora, and give her most room to swing Magnhild around. Eventually they found themselves in a lock, Qrow pushing against their weapons with his. Jaune could see it in his eyes. The fight was over. He was quickly proven right as they were pushed back and disarmed rapidly, followed by Qrow levelling his weapon at Ren.

"Wanna try your luck?" the veteran huntsman asked with humor in his voice, clearly already knowing the answer.

"We yield." Jaune spoke for all of them, resigned to the outcome. Ren dropped his stance and put Stormflower away, Nora changing Magnhild back into its more compact form, and he himself unlocked Crocea Mors from the shield, returning it to its sheath and placing his sword in it.

"You three are definitely not bad together," Qrow noted, wiping some from his forehead. He was smiling at all of them. "Reminds me of a team I once knew."

It sounded like there was a story behind those words, but Jaune didn't ask, knowing by the tone that it wasn't a topic Qrow wanted to breach currently.

"How much longer are we gonna be training?" Ren asked, letting a happy Nora hang off his arm. "I know we have to get stronger, but we also have to do something."

Everyone could see that Qrow was pondering the question, Ruby looking expectantly at her uncle, while Oscar had appeared at her side.

"We'll be moving soon. I still gotta do something here, and you might as well spend that time training," Qrow answered, moving back toward their current home with a fast pace, all of them following him. "Once I'm done, we're going to meet Raven."

From what Jaune had heard, Qrow and Raven clearly weren't the perfect family, for a number of reasons. The one he knew from Ruby was that Raven had left Yang and her dad. Pulling out his scroll, he checked how late it was.

"Should we start making dinner?" Jaune suggested, Nora and Ruby cheering at the prospect of food. Qrow gave the suggestion some thought.

"Yes. You three," he said, pointing at Jaune, Ren and Nora. "You'll make dinner. And the two of you will be training on the balcony until they're done."

Ruby pouted and complained, while Oscar said nothing as they continued their walk back.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Nora exclaimed excitedly, starting to run ahead of them. "I'm hungry!"

"Does anyone mind pancakes for dinner?" Ren questioned, only receiving approval for his idea. Except Qrow, who only shrugged his shoulder. The man ate everything it seemed. Or maybe him drinking from his flask made everything bearable. Jaune didn't know, though it didn't matter very much as they entered their place.

* * *

"Hey Jaune, aren't you gonna head to bed?" Jaune turned around as he heard Ruby's question. Pushing himself away from the railing, he left the balcony and closed the door behind him. The warmer air was welcome.

"I'm not feeling very tired, so I'm staying up for a while," he responded, receiving a nod from Ruby. "Hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep soon enough."

They smiled at each other for a moment, before Ruby headed towards her room, Ren and Nora already in their room.

"Alright then," the younger girl said, tilting her head slightly. "Hope you sleep well."

"Good night." Jaune told her, plopping down on the couch as she left.

"Good night!" Ruby called out, flashing him a smile and waving at him as she disappeared from sight. Now alone, Jaune closed his eyes as he began to think. They had been training a lot lately, and he knew that they very well needed it if they wanted to even be able to do anything. Their encounter against Tyrian had just shown how much below his level they were. Improvement was a must if they planned on doing anything but letting Qrow do all the hard work.

"Ugh…" Jaune grumbled as he rolled his shoulder. Qrow had decided to personally train him, as both of them wielded swords as their primary weapon of choice. The man didn't go easy on him, and his body felt it. His musing was interrupted by another person.

"Jaune?" Ren asked, watching him from the corner of his eyes as he got himself a glass of water. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Jaune looked up at his teammate, shaking his head.

"Can't sleep yet, so I'm trying to pass time until I'm able to." he told Ren, now standing up to stretch, joining him at the sink and getting a glass of water of his own.

"Anything you need to talk about?" Ren had always been perceptive, and he proved it once again. "You look like you're thinking too hard."

Jaune sighed, returning to his previous seat, while Ren sat in one of the chairs opposite of him.

"It's just, I feel like we're lagging too far behind to be useful. Compare ourselves to Qrow," he spoke, placing his hand behind his head as he leaned back. "Qrow could deal with Tyrian, but what we do when even Ozpin couldn't beat Cinder?"

Ren said nothing, looking contemplative.

"I don't know," was Ren's honest response, a slight grimace on his face. "We'll have to figure it out as we go, and keep improving. And rely on our fearless leader to lead us through these harsh times."

Neither of them said anything, but soon themselves unable to hold in their laughter. They quickly managed to compose themselves, in order to not wake anyone who was already asleep.

"Thanks, Ren." Jaune's words were sincere as he grinned at his teammate. "Get some sleep. No need for you to stay up because of me."

Ren said nothing as he stood up and left his glass in the sink, only giving a short wave as he left. Returning to his musing, and emptying his glass, he didn't get far as a new voice interrupted him, one he had gotten more familiar with over the past few weeks.

"Need a drink?" Qrow wondered, walking pass him and sitting down where Ren had sat a moment ago. He held out the flask he always carried on him. "Don't be a wimp. It might do you good."

Jaune had never tried anything alcoholic before, but a small sip couldn't hurt, right? Accepting the flask, he took a gulp, his eyes immediately widening as whatever he had just swallowed burned in his throat. Qrow burst out laughing loudly, slapping himself on his leg in amusement.

"What is that?" he barely got the words out as he rubbed his throat.

"Not your average drink, I can tell you that much," Qrow was still laughing, but was slowly managing to calm himself down. "You did at least better than Yang, who couldn't even keep it in."

It was understandable that Yang couldn't keep it in. He was surprised that he didn't want to throw up after tasting the foul beverage, handing the flask back.

"Hey Qrow," Jaune started, not sure if he even wanted to ask. He pressed on after a split second of thinking. "You mentioned that we reminded you of a team you knew. Is there a story accompanying those words?"

He had caught him off guard, as his expression told him everything he needed to know. Qrow closed his eyes, tilting his head back as he drank a lot of whatever was in his flask.

"You noticed, huh?" acceptance was only thing Jaune could hear in the few words spoken. "Since you're still up, I'm assuming you got no problem staying up a while longer.

"You'll probably understand this well enough, having lost your partner."

"This team…" Jaune started, not getting any further as Qrow stared at him.

"Team STRQ. In my opinion the best team to ever come from Beacon," Qrow's word hit him hard. He understood why he considered it to be the best team to come from Beacon. "Especially since it was my team."

"You're no team anymore though," his words about him understanding made sense now. He had lost Pyrrha, but Qrow had lost his team. "What happened?"

"A lot of things happened, but what would be our last mission as a team was the start of us falling apart," Qrow responded, arms crossed and eyes closed as he thought. "It was a simple mission. We were simply to defend a village from a Grimm attack. Turns out it wasn't a simple Grimm attack, but something far bigger. Something even Ozpin had no idea about. Something even worse than Salem."

Worse than Salem, without even Ozpin knowing about it? That was a very worrying thought.

"So, how did that break your team apart?" Jaune asked with interest, leaning forward as he waited for Qrow to continue.

"Lots of reasons, some not even related to the mission. We learnt of an unique Grimm created by Salem, one that was capable of advanced thinking," he explained, dissatisfaction in his voice now. "It had been sealed away and had broken free, attempting to overthrow Salem.

"We should have destroyed it, but only Raven was even entertaining the idea. The rest of us agreed on sealing it away again, convincing Raven as well."

Regret, lots of regret. Jaune had no idea how to react to the story.

"We were too afraid to deal with it, so we decided to let someone else deal with it once the Grimm breaks the seal again," Qrow went on, letting out a big sigh after a while. "I regret it a lot nowadays, and it's one of the reasons why Raven started distancing herself from us. Throw in her dislike for Ozpin, and it didn't take much more to push her away completely."

"What about the rest of your team?" Jaune wondered why Qrow hadn't mentioned his other teammates yet. Had something happened to them as well?

"Tai, Yang's dad, probably drew the second shortest of all sticks. He first got together with Raven, and the two had Yang," he told him, disappointed in what he was telling. He reached for his flask and emptied it. "Everything was fine for a while, until she left them. Of course, Summer, my partner and Ruby's mother, also had a thing for Tai, so she moved in and kept him together. Things were looking great."

Ruby had told him that her mother was dead, though she hadn't had any details on what happened.

"How did she die?" Jaune asked carefully, spotting surprise in Qrow.

"She was killed on a mission, lured into a trap by someone who had helped us find the Grimm all those years ago," Qrow finally answered, draping his arm over his eyes. "Raven blamed Ozpin for it, and since then she's been on her own. For Tai it was Raven all over again with Summer gone. STRQ was done for."

He didn't know what to say. He had lost Pyrrha back at Beacon, but Qrow had lost his partner, and his team had fallen apart, with the exception of Yang's dad from what he understood. There was no way Jaune could imagine what the man must be feeling, or how he even could tell all of that to someone who was practically a stranger. He snapped to attention as he heard Qrow starting to grumble about something.

"You alright?" Jaune watched as Qrow still had his arm draped over his eyes.

"Eh, everything's alright. Except I'm out of drink and I can't be bothered to head out to the bar now." he complained, continuing to lie back and doing absolutely nothing.

"Would you take the opportunity to fix things if you were given it?" it was a sudden question, but one Jaune had been thinking on for quite some time while they had been talking.

"Would I take the opportunity to fix things? Yes, I would take it without hesitation." Qrow spoke clearly, sitting up properly, with no doubt coming from him as he said the words.

"I'm sorry for what happened-" Jaune couldn't finish speaking as Qrow's eyes stared in shock behind him, and his mouth opened.

"Jaune, watch out!" Qrow shouted, already moving with his hand reaching for him. He had no idea what was going on, but turned around to see what had Qrow so shocked. A portal was swirling behind him, and he could feel it pulling on him, his entire body moving towards it. He tried fighting against the force that had taken hold of him, but it was to no avail as he was slowly dragged into it.

"Qrow!" he called out, grabbing the man's hand, but even that wasn't enough as he kept disappearing into the portal.

"Hold on!" Qrow's words weren't much of any help, his hand slowly slipping.

"Jaune?!" Ruby's voice. Jaune saw her, Ren, Nora and Oscar sprinting from their rooms, as they took a second to take everything in. They all looked horrified. "No!"

He tried to hold on. He tried to use his other hand to latch himself onto Qrow, but it was to no avail. Nothing helped as the force of the portal kept tugging on him.

"Keep dragging!" Qrow ordered everyone, all of them now holding onto his hand and pulling with all their might. "Why the hell isn't it working?!"

Those were the last words he heard, as he lost his grip. All of them cried out in horror, but he barely paid it any mind as darkness surrounded him. The portal had taken Jaune Arc.

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter. I'm sure some of you can see where I'm going with his, between the summary and the end. I will try to aim to update every 2-4 weeks, though I make no promises. Now, I do hope you enjoyed it, and I would appreciate a review if you got something to say. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back, to a chapter that I got out far earlier than expected. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

He had no idea what was going on, except that he couldn't see a thing after being sucked into that portal. Where was he?

"Hello?" Jaune called out, hoping for anything to happen, instead of nothing, like it had been for however long he had been in this place. This time, something happened though. It was no verbal response, but something he felt. Reassurance. Over what though? Like a blanket, a soothing feeling wrapped around him. Then something clearer, a task.

"Change? Am I supposed to change something?" he asked curiously, getting an affirmative answer. "What am I supposed to change?"

Jaune wanted to laugh at the confusion that was conveyed to him. Whatever presence was with him seemingly didn't know either. About to ask something more, he stopped himself as he spotted a light in the darkness that surrounded him.

"Am I supposed to go there?" Jaune felt the confirmation, happy that he at least had something to do. As he started to move, he soon realized it wasn't needed as like with the portal that had taken him here originally, he was getting dragged towards the light. Getting closer and closer, he was able to get a closer look at the light. It turned out to be another portal, much to his annoyance. What was it with portals today? This time though, he could look at the portal, spotting what he assumed to be grass. Whatever awaited him beyond the portal was probably better than just flying around in this darkness, so he let things take its course as he got closer and closer. Then things started going faster.

"Uh, think we could slow things down?" Jaune got no response, now being flung into the portal with far more force than he had expected. It was a very sudden change to go from wherever he had been to be quickly approaching the ground, air rushing around him. Thankfully he hadn't appeared very high in the air, so he was certain his Aura would take care of the impact. He hoped it would. Using the time to take in his surroundings, he noticed that he would land in a camp. If he was lucky, the people there wouldn't be hostile and actually willing to help him. Bracing for the impact, his breath escaped him as hit the ground, his Aura flaring up to stop the most of the damage he would have taken. It still hurt like hell though. Maybe he had underestimated the distance to the ground. Before he could do much more, the sounds of weapons being drawn caught his attention. A katana appeared in front of him, only stopping a very short distance from his face. He probably shouldn't be surprised, as someone falling out of the sky and landing in your camp certainly wasn't an everyday experience. His attempt to reach for Crocea Mors was immediately stopped, another sword stopping him from reaching it. The sword seemed rather familiar though.

"Who are you, and why did you fall out of the sky?" a feminine voice, one that didn't sound very happy and could very well be mistaken for a blonde friend of his hadn't he been on high alert currently.

"Qrow?" Jaune asked carefully, following the sword that was stopping him from drawing his weapon all the way up to its owner. He made sure to look twice, but he was certain that he was staring at Qrow, even if he looked younger than he remembered him. Had he fallen on his head?

"How do you know my name?" Qrow questioned, clearly even more wary now. The katana followed suite, pressing a little harder against his skin. He said nothing. "Raven, should we get him to speak?"

"No!" another new voice cried out, one that sounded distinctly like Ruby. Looking around, he spotted its owner, a woman wearing a white cloak. She was rather small as well. "We'll let him in talk in peace while making sure he doesn't escape."

"But-" Qrow tried, getting a slap on his head from the woman. The other woman, who had been identified as Raven, which meant she was his sister, laughed at her brother.

"Remove your weapon, Raven. If he was an enemy, falling out of the sky without any kind of grace is not the smartest way to ambush us." Jaune winced at her words, though he couldn't deny them. If he had wanted to take them by surprise, he had certainly failed. She was very soft spoken was something he took note of.

"You two heard her," a voice belonging to a blonde man added, a definitive cheer to his words. "Wouldn't want our leader to get upset, would you?"

No one spoke, but all weapons were removed from his presence, even if Raven and Qrow still kept them out and at the ready. The one who they had called their leader approached him carefully and sat down next to him.

"I'm Summer Rose, leader of Team STRQ. What's your name?" she asked of him, now wearing a smile. This was Ruby's mother and Qrow's partner? Summer pulled her hood back as she turned to him, continuing to smile.

"Uh, I'm Jaune Arc," he introduced himself sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as Summer smiled at him, while Raven and Qrow glared at him like he was their worst enemy. Tai, or he assumed it was Tai, said nothing, simply watching him with interest, unlike the hostility the two siblings showed. "First year student at Beacon."

He was a first year student at Beacon, before the school was destroyed. Though, assuming he was correct, he was in the past, so that didn't matter either. Considering Qrow looked younger, and Summer, who should have been dead, was still alive. it wasn't that unlikely. Not less likely than being absorbed into a portal.

"A first year student at Beacon?" Tai asked with interest, now properly joining the conversation. He got closer, allowing Jaune to get a good look, but didn't sit down. He could definitely see a resemblance to Yang. "What's a first year student at Beacon doing out here? It's too early for missions. More importantly, what were you doing falling out of the sky?"

That was a good question. He knew they wouldn't believe him if he said a portal had spit him out, after taking him away from his time. He'd most likely be labelled as mad by them if he tried telling them that.

"I was practicing my landing strategy. It was terrible during Initiation, so I thought I'd better make sure it was up to par, in case I ever needed one again." Jaune explained, trying to hide the nervousness he felt. There was no way he would even stand a remote chance to escape should they find anything he said to be wrong in their eyes. Besides already being ready in case of Raven and Qrow, they were stronger. While he wasn't certain, they looked old enough to have already graduated from Beacon. The only thing that kept him alive currently was Summer.

"That's what you were doing?" Qrow questioned, bursting out in rambunctious laughter, bending over and holding his stomach as he laughed. "It sounds too stupid to be a lie!"

The words were forced out between his bouts of laughter, and Jaune's eye twitched as the man didn't stop. Even Raven, who had been the most tense of the four of them, was smiling, though she quickly hid it behind her hand. Things soon turned serious again, Qrow composing himself.

"We can't prove otherwise, so we'll have to believe your story. For now." Summer spoke for her team, never raising her voice or sounding like she was in charge. The way everyone acted around her told a very different story. She was in charge, just as the rest of them protected her. Tai, Raven and Qrow all stood around her, none of them looking like they wouldn't strike him down should he try something with Summer.

"If you want to keep practicing, we won't stop you," Raven said, glancing at him, before looking away again. "We'll leave you some food and water so you can keep practising, but that's as far as we'll go. Shouldn't you know, closest town is in that direction."

She pointed with her thumb behind her.

"Hey," Qrow piped up, arms crossed a rather serious look on his face. "You never answered my question about how you knew my name. I'm certain we've never met, so you shouldn't possibly know it. Even if were rather well known at Beacon, there's still no reason for you to know it."

Qrow reached for his flask, receiving a big glare from Summer as he took a sip. How some things never changed. Though how he would get himself out of this one, he didn't know. The lie about practicing his landing strategy had barely worked, but what could he tell them now? Using Beacon as an excuse was already gone. Then he figured he might as well test his luck.

"How about we have a spar? If I impress you enough, you drop the question. If I don't, I'll tell you," Jaune suggested with a grin. It was stupid, though better than nothing. And if he failed, the truth would just be considered nonsense by all of them. "So?"

"A first year student against a graduated Huntsman? I don't know if you're stupid, or just tired of life," his teacher in the future responded, reaching for his sword. "I'll have to go easy you, which won't change the fact that I'll beat you easily."

Qrow was still very confident in his skill, and he assumed that he was on the level of a first year student at Beacon. Luckily for him, he was pretty good now after all that training, and he had learnt a little about Qrow's fighting. Looking around, he could see Tai looking excited, Summer looking resigned and Raven just shaking her head. Nothing more was said as they spread out on the open field they were on, the rest of Qrow's team standing to the side, while he stood around lazily, barely looking like was even trying. Jaune knew that it only was part of the truth. The man just tried to bait you in for an easy strike if he knew he was up against a weaker opponent. Which he obviously was. There was no doubt in Jaune's mind that even a younger Qrow could beat him. Didn't meant he wouldn't fight to the best of his ability in order to avoid being labelled as crazy. There was no way that would help him with any further interactions with all of them.

"Ready?" Jaune called out, Crocea Mors and his shield at the ready as he received a nod from Qrow. Rushing in would be a massive failure from his part, so he took it slowly, carefully approaching Qrow while making sure to keep his shield up. Qrow on the other hand was less patient, sprinting in once he noticed Jaune wouldn't make an aggressive move. Once in range, the older huntsman swung his weapon first. Jaune was caught a little off guard by the force behind it, but managed to block the attack with his shield. He swept out with his leg, hoping to trip Qrow, but it failed as his foot met steel. Surprised, Jaune looked down to find Qrow's sword stabbed in the ground.

"Heh, didn't expect that, did you?" his opponent asked cockily, before pulling it out and rapidly starting to attack him. He was left no opening, forced on the defensive as his used his sword and shield to stop anything from hitting him. There was no doubt that Qrow was toying with him, not expecting to ever be challenged. Jaune would prove him wrong, and at least show that he was capable of more than any of them expected from him. Spotting an opening, a sloppy one, he smashed his shield against Qrow's sword. He clearly hadn't expected it, losing his balance as he tumbled backwards. Taking his chance, Jaune bashed his shield against his left shoulder, cutting at his knee, before moving in and headbutting Qrow.

"Hey, the guy's not half bad. Has Beacon improved their first year students that much since we graduated?" Tai wondered, sounding impressed as well, being the first one of the spectators to say something.

"Definitely not. Either he's gotten a lot more training, or he's lying about being a first year student." Raven argued, watching the fight with an intense focus Jaune didn't think was possible.

"Maybe I don't need to go as easy on you as I thought I would." Qrow said, now sounding less like he was just fooling around, and more like he was actually taking this serious. The look in his eyes told Jaune that Qrow was enjoying himself. The man loved a good battle over many things, something Ruby had told him on their journey together. And while he wasn't a true challenge, he would still try his damndest to put a dent in Qrow. They engaged once again, Jaune trying to cut Qrow with the edge of his shield. His attempt was blocked, before a kick to his knee brought him down. Looking up, he could see the sword sailing for him, so he quickly rolled to the side in order to keep his Aura intact. Before he could react, a bullet struck his shoulder, forcing him back to the ground. While it hadn't done any major damage, it still stung, as Qrow had managed to hit him where his armor wasn't reaching. Gritting his teeth, Jaune lashed out with Crocea Mors to create space he could work with, but Qrow avoided his attempt. He pinned his shield arm with his right leg, while preparing to stab him. He smirked as he spat the man in the face, a gasp of surprise escaping him. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, Jaune grabbed the leg pinning his arm and heaved it off with everything he got, Qrow falling to the ground with a grunt of annoyance. Not wasting any time, Jaune got up again, giving Qrow the chance to gather himself as well.

"Are you impressed enough?" Jaune asked, not sure if he wanted to continue his attempt to take on Qrow, or just end it. "Or do I need to pull more tricks out of my hat?"

He definitely wasn't as confident as he sounded, trying to act like he was in control. Qrow was good, even without the experience he had in the future. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea in what year he was. Qrow was younger, probably by a few years. They had even mentioned having graduated, so it couldn't be too long.

"Not yet, though you're on your way to maybe impress me." Qrow responded, grinning like he hadn't seen the man ever do. He clearly was more excited by battling when he was younger. He fired multiple shots at Jaune, which either hit his shield or cut down by his sword. Showing off a level of speed far faster than Jaune had expected, he only managed to bring Crocea Mors up in an awkward position as he parried Qrow's attack. It was a bad parry, and he knew it as he got kicked in the chest. Even through his Aura and armor he felt that, and he was sent flying backwards. Returning his shield to its sheath form, Jaune placed his sword in it and triggered the mechanism that put them together. What he didn't account for was a scythe coming in from above. Adrenaline pumping, he rolled to the side, as the scythe embedded itself into the ground where he had been but a moment ago. Jaune had never seen Qrow use his scythe before, but if he had taught Ruby on how to handle one like she did, he had to be incredible with one.

"Qrow, I think that's enough," Summer spoke up, all smiles as she walked up to her partner and put a hand on his shoulder. Qrow instantly relaxed at her touch. "I didn't think I would see Qrow, even if he was holding back, do anything but win handily. We won't ask you to tell us anything, unless you want to."

Jaune let out a sigh of relief, happily disengaging Crocea Mors from the shield, and instead letting it rest in its sheath. While he knew he could have kept going, pointlessly fighting Qrow wasn't very high on his list of priorities. Smiling at Summer, he nodded his thanks.

"What are you gonna do now?" Tai wondered, approaching him with a thoughtful expression, though it quickly turned into a huge grin. "Gonna keep practicing your landing strategy?"

He glared at the blonde, but didn't bother to respond to the obvious bait. Putting some thought into it, Jaune didn't really know what do. He was told to change things, but not what. He could guess it had to do with Team STRQ. How did he do it though? He needed to get closer to them, and stalking them would definitely have the opposite outcome.

"I don't know. I'm only doing it because I had nothing better to do," he admitted, shrugging after a moment. "Maybe I will stick to practicing."

Most importantly, he needed a way to stick with them for some reason. He had none though, much to his chagrin. If they were on their last mission already, he needed to act fast. Qrow had said that their last mission played a major role in why things went wrong for them.

"You look like you're lost," Summer was the one to speak, concern in her voice as well as visible on her face. "If you're looking to get anywhere, here's a map."

She handed him a map, with two bigger circles drawn onto it. Studying it closer, he recognized that they were in Mistral.

"The direction I pointed in earlier takes you to a town that has Bullheads going to the City of Mistral," Raven continued, already packing a bag with food and water for him. "This should be enough to not get you hungry or anything."

Jaune accepted the bag offered to him. Taking a quick glance inside, he couldn't say that Raven only gave him the minimum. This could last him many hours. Once he looked back up, he could already see Tai, Raven and Qrow walking in the direction of the village highlighted on the map.

"It was nice meeting you, Jaune." Summer said, giving him a small wave as she ran over to her waiting teammates. It didn't take long before all of them were out of sight. What now? He could follow them, but if they came across him, he wouldn't be able to explain himself. Scratching his head, Jaune decided that going to Mistral wouldn't be a terrible idea. Hopefully he could ask around for a bit of information there, and figure out how far back in time he had been sent. If he was lucky, someone might have interacted with the team, and knew what they were doing. Starting to walk, he knew he had a long walk ahead of him.

* * *

He had been sent 20 years into the past. Which meant it only was a years before he, and most of his friends, were born. The fact that Qrow had already been this strong at this just told him how good he actually was. Maybe him considering themselves the best team to ever from Beacon wasn't completely unfounded. He found less success in learning anything about STRQ, as no one he asked so far had seen them.

"Last chance." Jaune muttered, letting out a sigh as he approached the one bar he hadn't been to yet. He had started at the bottom, in hopes of that maybe they had passed through the lower levels, but they hadn't. Now he had been exploring the main part of the city, knowing he wouldn't gain entry into the upper levels. And he doubted that they had been there either. Pushing the door open, Jaune took in the life that filled the bar. It was already evening, after his walk took him multiple hours alone, and his exploration took him another few hours.

"Welcome!" a bartender called out happily, serving someone sitting at the bar at the same time. Putting on a smile, Jaune walked over to the counter, leaning on his elbows as he waited for the bartender to move over to him. He probably needed to order something if he even planned on having a chance, because he didn't think he would be welcome if he only wasted the bartender's time without ordering anything. Finally the man came over. "What'll it be?"

"Some orange juice, if you wouldn't mind." Jaune said, having no plans on drinking something alcoholic after what Qrow offered him. He would most likely not even be served anything alcoholic, since he wasn't of age yet. He watched the man fetch a glass, before picking up an orange from a bowl and pressing the juice out of it with the help of a machine. Jaune's eyes lit up as the glass of freshly pressed orange juice was placed in front of him.

"There you go, lad," the bartender spoke, accepting the Lien Jaune handed over without any issues. "If you don't mind me asking, what's someone of your age doing in a bar like this? We're not a club that you kids usually like to visit."

This was his chance, so he really hoped he would get something out of his visit here. At least he got himself some orange juice. It had been forever since he gotten anything but the usual stuff you bought in a store.

"I was actually hoping to get some information," Jaune admitted with a shrug and a weak smile, taking another sip. The bartender looked intrigued, so he continued. "I'm trying to find something about a team that I encountered earlier today. They do stand out."

The bartender rubbed his chin before his eyes lit up.

"Woman with a white hood and another with a huge katana, together with two men?" he asked, and Jaune perked up immediately. Finally!

"Yeah, exactly," Jaune noted, leaning closer as he spoke excitedly. "Do you know anything?"

"It was a few days ago, so I don't remember everything, but I do remember they were on a mission. Some village that needed protection from Grimm," the man said, nodding along with his own words. "From what I understood they were pretty experienced, so I'm unsure why Haven didn't just send a team of students to deal with it. Seemed like sending an experienced team for a simple Grimm attack was a bit too much."

Jaune took the information presented to him in. Was this the mission Qrow had talked about? It had to be, but how did a simple mission like this lead to team issues? He had no idea, though it was a start, but now he knew what he needed to do.

"Do you know if there's a fast way to get to this village from here?" Jaune asked, showing the bartender the map and pointing at the village he talked about. While walking was fine, if he could get quicker, so much the better.

"There should be a Bullhead going there twice per day. I think if you hurry up, you might still be able to catch it. It leaves at nine as far as I know." Jaune pulled out his scroll and checked the time. He only had ten minutes left, and he didn't know where the docks were!

"Where do I need to go?" he emptied his glass after getting the words out, already standing up as he waited for the directions.

"If you just go straight down the street from here, you'll find yourself on the main street. Go right again and you should spot a sign soon enough." the bartender explained, Jaune only noticing that he shook his head as he rushed out. Helping Qrow and the others on their mission gave him a passable excuse to stick around with them, assuming they let him. Following the directions given to him, he did find himself on the main street. Keeping up his high pace, he barely avoided running someone over, a few angry words being thrown at him. Then he spotted the sign. Running as fast as he could, he stopped in front of a noteboard. Finding the location of the Bullhead he wanted to take, he hurried over there, signs telling him where to go. The Bullhead was still there. Calming down, Jaune walked up to the Bullhead, seeing the pilot lean against its side. He got spotted.

"I thought no one would come, leaving me without work," the pilot spoke, jerking his head in the direction of the cockpit. "You can ride up front, since no one else is around. Haven't spoken to anyone for the majority of the day, so the company is welcome."

Jaune didn't mind, the pilot unlocking the door for him, before moving over to his own side of the cockpit. Both of them got themselves quickly seated, the Bullhead's engine starting up.

"Not many people fly to the village?" Jaune asked with interest. He assumed it was pretty small, which would explain the lack of people taking the Bullhead out there.

"It varies. Some days a lot more go out there, and some days, like today, it's very uneventful," the pilot responded, seemingly not bothered by the lack of busy days. Maybe he didn't mind doing nothing. "Got a specific reason for wanting to go there?"

"I met a team while in the area, and they told me they were going there," Jaune said, deciding that just telling the truth wouldn't hurt. He didn't like to go out of his way and lie, especially if there wasn't a reason. "I learnt that they were there to defend it from Grimm while at a bar, so I thought I'd go there and see if I could help. I had nothing better to do anyway."

His answer was accepted without much debate, and the two of them fell in silence, Jaune watching the ground move pass them out of the window. It didn't take long until the way the village came into view, its lights clearly visible. That's when he spotted something he had not expected, and something that had him nearly jump out of his seat.

"Damn it, looks like you're late to the party!" the pilot called out, his head turning as he obviously tried to take everything in. "Shit, Nevermore incoming!"

Jaune's eyes shot wide open as a large Nevermore was flying straight at them, its beak letting out a terrifying screech. He barely managed to grab the armrest as the Bullhead dropped, the Nevermore racing past overhead. A huge amount of Grimm was surrounding the village, many already inside it.

"I need to get down there, now!" Jaune shouted, getting out of his seat as fast as he possibly could. "I'll jump out!"

Jaune ignored the pilot's somewhat surprised look, though he quickly composed himself as he started to lower the Bullhead to a height where a jump would be feasible to pull off. He heard the ramp open, air rushing in.

"Everything's clear!" he barely acknowledged the words as he quickly moved to his exit. "Good luck!"

Taking a deep breath, Jaune looked out over the village, the Grimm being the only moving mass that he could see. There was no way that Qrow and the others weren't there. Then he started to sprint, jumping out of the Bullhead, spreading his arms and legs apart and letting the air catch him. This time, he was ready for the fall, and it was even lower than back then, so he drew Crocea Mors and activated the shield, bracing himself for the impact. Even at the lower height, he felt it, though his armor and Aura took the brunt of it, leaving him with a short recovery time. He could see the Bullhead getting smaller and smaller fast. Jaune tried to pick up any sounds that would lead him to anyone, but the noise the Grimm made that impossible. He just need to move and hope he found one of the four team members. The first Beowolf in his vicinity spotted him, not hesitating to leap for him. Had this been at the start of his time at Beacon, he would have been dead. Now he was far stronger, cutting the Grimm in half mid-air. There were too many to form any kind of strategy, Beowolves, Ursas and the likes all coming for him. He cut down all of them, avoiding damage to the best of his ability. Pushing on, he spotted a flash of red. Willing himself to move even faster, he didn't need much longer to find Raven cutting down the Grimm like they were nothing. Jaune froze as a King Taijitu appeared behind Raven, who seemed to be too occupied with all the other Grimm to notice it. One of the heads moved in to strike.

"No!" Jaune ran as fast as he possibly could could, praying to anything out there that he would be able to get between it and Raven in time. He lifted his shield, prepared to block and screamed. "RAVEN!"

* * *

 **I honestly didn't expect to get this out this fast, but hey, I did. While I said I plan to update between 2 and 4 weeks, something coming earlier isn't impossible. It taking longer than 4 weeks should never happen though.**

 **Hopefully my portrayals of the STRQ members came across well. While Qrow isn't too different, I'm gonna have fun with Raven, whereas Summer never having appeared in the show and Tai being very barebones allows for lots of playing room with them.**

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed the read, and any review is appreciated! Until next time, where a big battle awaits!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3_**

"RAVEN!"

Raven's body jerked as a voice screamed her name, one she knew didn't belong to anyone on her team. Then she spotted movement in the corner of her eyes, a King Taijitu's heads moving in to strike far faster than she could react. She had left herself defenceless. Instead of getting struck however, she found the blond boy from earlier standing between her and the Grimm, grunting as the two heads crashed into his shield.

"You," she was surprised to find him of all people here, defending her from what could, and most likely would, have been her demise. "Why?"

Shock still ran through her body, but she forced it aside as she decided that helping him out of his predicament was more important. He had saved her after all, so repaying the favor was a given in her mind. Raven focused her Aura into Masamune, before dashing in and swinging her katana as fast as she could. One head fell to the ground, the King Taijitu's other head roaring in pain. Much to her surprise, the blond boy used his shield to push the other head back, followed by a clean cut from his sword, the remaining head falling as well. The body left behind dissolved immediately.

"Me," he responded, glancing around while his body stayed on high alert. "You needed help, so I helped you."

Raven wanted to believe otherwise, but the honesty in his voice stopped her. He couldn't sound that honest without meaning it. And it wasn't like her leader wouldn't do the same, helping a person who needed help, no matter who they were.

"Jaune, was it?" Raven asked, drawing Masamune close to her body. He, Jaune, nodded in acknowledgement. "We'll have to work together it seems until we can find anyone else on my team. Be careful."

She said nothing more, rushing into the fray against the Grimm in front of her. Jaune wasn't far behind, often moving in to cover her. He was used to acting like that in a fight, providing cover for someone else, in order to give them as much space as possible to cut anyone down. With him at her side, she had far more opportunities to strike, needing to worry less about getting hit in return.

"This isn't a regular Grimm attack, is it?" Jaune questioned, his mouth drawn into a line, as he took whatever chance he got to go on the offensive himself, though he still prioritised acting as her shield. "There's far too many of them for this to be normal.

She scoffed at his observation, not bothering to deny it. How he even knew of the attack was a question for later, once the Grimm were dealt with. Suddenly, a smaller Nevermore slammed into Jaune's attack, a cry of surprise escaping him. Not one to hesitate, she delivered a swift kick at the Grimm bird, knocking it into the sky just to cut it in two. Then the sound of an Ursa Major barrelling reached her ears, Jaune joining her in taking a step back. She saw Jaune about to move in, though someone made a move before him, taking on the Ursa Major head on.

"Qrow!" Raven shouted, nearly snarling as her brother looked back at her with that look in his eyes. Like her, he was usually calm and composed in a fight. Unlike her though, he enjoyed battling anything. Winning or losing didn't matter, so long he got to fight. It didn't happen always, but if he battled for a longer period or he got really into it, he tended to get all kind of crazy ideas in his head. He pushed the Ursa Major back, cutting across its face followed by a shot delivered at point blank. The beast rose on its hind legs, crying out in agony. Not one to play around, Qrow stabbed the exposed stomach of the beast, transforming his weapon into its scythe form and tearing it out of the Ursa Major.

"I don't think we need another blond," her brother spoke with annoyance, not bothered by her glare at all. Damn him. "Whatever. For now you're a welcome sight. These Grimm have been a pain, and far too many."

"Where're all the people that live here?" it was a question she hadn't expected, but it made sense that Jaune would be asking. He couldn't know, after all.

"At a safe distance away from the village," she explained, never stopping to cut down any Grimm that she could. "We managed to spot the attack early enough that getting them out was possible."

The three of them had formed a triangle, Grimm surrounding them from all directions. Raven had only experienced Grimm acting like this once, but she couldn't fathom what prompted them to act like this here of all places. Ozpin had told them of Salem, how she was the Queen of the Grimm and could control them. That said, it made no sense for her to control Grimm in order to wipe out an insignificant village. At this point, it didn't matter though, as killing the Grimm was higher on her list of priorities.

"So, what's the plan?" Jaune asked, blocking a Beowolf's attack, only to slash through its midsection.

"Keep fighting until all the Grimm are dead or we fall over. We got no way out, so either we survive or we go down fighting." Raven's words lacked any hesitation. She had no plans of dying here of all places, separated from half of her team, but if that was how she would end, the Grimm would go down with her.

"Hey sis, think you can take us to Summer or Tai? We'll make sure you can create a portal to one of them without worry." Qrow suggested, shooting down Grimm with Jaune giving him cover. The idea was good, and she nodded in agreement. Focusing on Tai, she swung Masamune, the air rippling as a red portal opened in front of her.

"Let's go." she spoke calmly, glancing behind her as her brother and Jaune approached the portal. Then she jumped in. Appearing on the other side, she moved aside to let them through as well, the portal disappearing once they appeared next to her.

"Hey Raven!" Tai called out, kicking thin air and sending a Beowolf flying into another one, followed by a punch in the air against an incoming Nevermore. There was enough force behind the punch for the Nevermore to explode in the air. Whereas Qrow got excited by battle, her partner was just a positive person, even in a situation like this.

"Tai," she greeted him, choosing to give him a smile. He always reacted well if others were happy as well, and she liked seeing him smile. "Where's Summer?"

"I'm here!" their leader called, rose petals cutting through the Grimm and exploding. Amongst all the black, white appeared. She stopped as she reached them. "Jaune?"

"Summer, we got no time for idle chatter. Stay focused on the task at hand," Raven reminded the other woman, only getting a sheepish smile in response. She knew all of them too well. The five of them formed a tight circle, the Grimm closing in on them. "This is the best situation we've found ourselves in since the start of the attack. We fight now."

"Got it, partner!" Tai declared, bouncing on his feet as he took a fighting stance.

"Only use your Semblance if needed, Tai," she told him, now glancing over to Jaune who stood to her right. "You'll stick with me. Qrow, cover Summer."

Raven knew that even if Qrow was too into a fight, he would never let Summer down. She had always been a bit more frail than them, but made more than up for it with her potent offensive. Then she moved, ripping apart the first Ursa that decided to die with an Aura enhanced strike. Jaune joined her, ducking under a Beowolf that leaped over him. Not bothering to look, she could hear Tai's excitement, alongside an audible crunch. Shaking her head, she focused on making sure that she and Jaune took down as many of the Grimm as they possibly could. For never having fought together, the two of them managed to fight far better together than she had expected. Did he just fight how he did when he was alongside his partner and teammates? It didn't matter as she swung Masamune in a wide arc, letting Aura cut the Grimm. What should have been a perfectly fine stab from Jaune turned into him crashing into a Beowolf, his sword being pushed all the way through to the hilt. He quickly righted himself again, kicking the body of the Grimm away.

"Seems like I had a case of bad luck." he joked, a weak smile accompanying his joke. Then he seemingly came to some kind of realization, his expression shifting around until it settled into something more neutral. While it could have been a coincidence for him to bring up bad luck, his reaction that followed told her that knew far more than he let on. He knew of her brother's Semblance, and she didn't know how that was possible. Currently, it didn't matter though, as she had bigger priorities. She could ask him all she wanted once they were done. Suddenly an Ursa came hurling at her, which didn't deter her from splitting it in half.

"Beringels?!" Summer's worried cry came, echoed by the loud movement of Beringels. Raven could see that Grimm's numbers had thinned by quite a bit, but if they were bolstered by stronger Grimm, it didn't mean very much. One of the Beringels came running at her and Jaune, picking up other Grimm and throwing it at them as it kept getting closer and closer.

"Aim for its legs. If it can't run around, it's far easier to deal with." she noted, Jaune nodding in acknowledgement, preparing himself for the fight. The Grimm thrown at them were quickly cut down, the Beringel continuously throwing more Grimm for them to cut down. Her temporary partner blocked the first punch from the Beringel with his shield, though it quickly turned out to be a mistake as he was slammed into the ground by the force of the attack. Rushing in to cover him, she pulled its attention to her, trying to strike at its legs. After she got in the first hit, it seemingly understood what she was trying to do. Between the sheer number of Grimm, specifically targeting this village, Beringels appearing and even one that was probably old enough to learn during a fight, something was very wrong, and she needed to know what. Seeing that he Jaune had recovered, she noticed that he had changed his sword to the form that he had tried to use on Qrow earlier, but never got the chance.

"If you can keep it busy, I can probably cut it down a size." Jaune said, not lacking any confidence or looking in any way fazed by the threat they had found themselves going up against. Accepting his confidence, she lead the charge, trying everything she could think of to keep the Beringel distracted from Jaune. Her attacks seemed rather ineffective, as it simply shrugged off anything that wasn't a deep cut or her stabbing Masamune through it. Barely jumping over one of its legs trying to nail her, she saw Jaune cleave his way through its knee right as it pulled its leg back. The roar it let out was deafening, as it started to thrash around in a fit of rage. With it immobilized, capitalizing on the weakness it presented wasn't hard. Having no way to escape or move around, the swings coming her way were far more predictable. With efficiency she severed its two arms, before using its body as a springboard to get higher, channeling Aura into Masamune once again and cutting its head off cleanly. She landed back on her feet, stumbling slightly backwards. Prepared to fall, she found herself caught by Jaune who made sure to place her upright again.

"Thank you." while it hadn't been much, Raven still decided to show him some gratitude. Not just for catching her, but also for going out of his way to get here and help them. Looking around, she could see that all the Grimm had been dealt with or were running away. Had the Beringel they had killed been the leader?

"No problem." he responded, opening his mouth to say something more but for some reason stopping himself. It didn't take her long to find out why.

"Raven!" Summer called out, barreling down the square they had been fighting in and enveloping her in a tight hug. "Are you alright?"

She struggled and tried to escape the hug, but gave up when she didn't manage to shrug Summer off. Instead, she simply returned the hug with a sigh, deciding that keeping her happy wasn't worth struggling for.

"Yes, Summer, I'm fine," Raven finally managed to pry their leader off her, letting out a huff that was more for show than anything else "What about you two?"

The question directed at her brother and her partner only got a shrug in response, one that was synchronized perfectly between them. She could only sigh as they bumped their fists with a grin. That's when a loud screech interrupted anything that would have been said, Raven noticing that all of them tensed up at the unfamiliar sound. Glancing around, she tried to pinpoint it, but she couldn't spot anything.

"What the hell was that?" Qrow asked, with a seriousness that was rare coming from him, Highwind at the ready. "And here I thought the large number of Grimm or the Beringels had been our biggest problem."

She could feel the worry pool in her stomach, her eyes never stopping darting around. Whatever was coming had to be a threat, a Grimm far older than any of the ones they had killed. It hadn't attacked at any point prior, but why? It had to have been around for at least some time, based on how little time it took for it to appear after they had killed the Grimm in the village. Or had it simply not deemed them enough of a threat? They had dealt with stronger Grimm before as a team, but it didn't lessen her worry. As she looked up at the full moon, she could see and hear it, the flapping of wings being the only sound that was made.

"A Griffon!" Tai shouted, pointing up at the sky. The moon illuminated the Griffon, its wings and legs moving in tandem as it got closer and closer. "Damn, it's big!"

It was far bigger than any Griffon she had ever encountered. A regular Griffon wasn't too big, but this one was enormous. She'd only heard rumors of the ancient Nevermore that had made its home in Emerald Forest, and if the rumors were true, she could certainly believe this one was close in size. Nothing was said as Summer, Tai and Qrow all fired their different projectiles at the beast. Raven's eyes widened as she could only watch the beast move through the barrage of Summer's rose petals, Tai's punches and kicks and Qrow's bullet.

"It's completely unfazed!" Jaune exclaimed in shock, staring at it with wide eyes, definitely sharing in her worry. Anything but getting close and personal would probably be ineffective.

"Stop firing! We're just wasting energy and ammunition!" Summer ordered, loading a bullet into her gunblade, Revolving Rose. As she took aim, Qrow and Tai moved back slightly, staying just in range to step in should the Griffon attack Summer. Summer fired her one bullet, hitting straight in the chest of the avian Grimm. Even if nothing happened for a moment, Raven knew what could come. Fire enveloped it as the bullet exploded, the Dust inside it igniting. All of them watched as the Griffon dropped to the ground, slamming into it, and the fire burning its body. Then it let out a roar and flapped its wings, the fire vanishing like it was nothing.

"One could have hoped that it would have been more effective." Raven muttered with annoyance, dashing in and aim to strike at one of the wings. A talon from the massive Griffon met her attack effortlessly, picking her up like she was nothing and flinging her back, before taking to the sky. Qrow was already in the air, landing on the beast's back, holding on for his dear life as he was about to be thrown off. She took her chance and opened a portal, letting herself fly into it. Appearing above her brother, she angled Masamune downwards in an attempt to stab it. Instead, to her shock, it rolled on its back, Qrow unable to hold on, and once again blocked her attack by pushing her aside.

"This thing is ridiculous." she heard Qrow mutter after he helped her get back up from her less than pleasant landing. "It doesn't let us get in a good hit up close and our ranged attacks have proven to be ineffective. What now?"

No answer was needed as it was Jaune who spoke the loudest with his actions. He charged in, jumped in the air in order to reach the Griffon, and just doing anything he possibly could to make a difference. One of his swings forced it to land in order to avoid getting hit, a mistake she wouldn't let slip. She felt her Aura rush through her body into Masamune, and she put her all into her as she cut the air. The arc of Aura rushed through the air, slamming into the beak of the Griffon, making it wail.

"We keep just trying until it's dead," Jaune was afraid. She easily recognized his behavior as fear, but he kept going. "It's beatable, so anything we do against it is worth it!"

"Right." was all Summer spoke, smiling as she joined him in trying to attack. Qrow and Tai weren't far behind, the four of them moving and switching around as they tried to take the Griffon down. Their attacks were working, but they weren't getting any results. The Griffon kept fighting like the attacks that were hitting it meant nothing, before it retreated up in the air to watch them.

"Brother, you should really put those strong legs of yours to use." Raven taunted with a grin, trying estimate the height the Griffon was hovering at. Looking around, all of them looked worried now, except Jaune, whose eyes were lighting up.

"I can jump high, but it won't do me any good without any momentum," Qrow responded with a huff, glaring at the flying beast alongside the others. "Striking it from above has proven ineffective. Unless you forgot that."

"Could you do it if I launch you?" Jaune asked, heads were turning as they stared at him. "I mean, you could jump on my shield and I would push you up further."

"I've heard worse ideas, so why not?" Qrow wondered with a shrug of his shoulders, walking away from them to create distance for a sprint. "Not like it can be worse than some of Summer's early ideas."

"Hey!" their leader exclaimed, levelling a fierce glare at her partner, alongside a pout. Raven decided to step in before the two of them lost their focus.

"It's a good enough idea, and better than anything else we got. Summer, try and keep the Griffon locked in place with your petals. Tai, assist her if needed," she said, directing her words at Summer and her partner. "Brother, once you're up there I'll open a portal to strike from above. We should be able to cleave it like that."

Simply waiting, Raven watched as Qrow and Jaune took their positions, with Jaune holding his shield at the ready, Summer at the same time summoning a tornado of rose petals around the Grimm. Qrow's sprint was impressive, followed by a leap that she knew not many would be able to pull off. He barely touched the shield as Jaune jumped up from his crouch and launched Qrow into the air, who was quickly transforming Highwind into its scythe form. Watching her brother carefully, she waited until the last moment to open a portal angled up towards her. Jumping in, she drew back Masamune as she closed in on the Griffon from above, while Qrow was coming from below. Together they struck, Highwind wrapping around the Griffon's neck while Masamune cut through its midsection, the two of them cleaving the Grimm into three. It had barely gotten a scream of point out, before it had been silenced by their combined attack.

"Yes!" Jaune cheered from below, Raven shaking her head at his excitement. For him this was most likely a far bigger experience, as students of his age didn't take on Grimm this strong usually. She and Qrow let themselves land on the ground without any issues, Tai taking her in a hug, which she didn't bother to get out of, Summer doing the same to Qrow. Raven glanced at Jaune, and spoke.

"We need to talk."

* * *

Jaune scratched his head as all five of them sat gathered around a table late in the night, the hotel's restaurant being nearly empty after the day's events. It hadn't stopped the villagers from heaping them with thanks for saving their village from destruction at the hand of the Grimm. Much to his dismay, he was the recipient of a not so friendly glare from Raven, Qrow looking mostly intrigued while Summer and Tai looked happy enough. Why couldn't Raven be a little more friendly after they had fought side by side against the Grimm and it had been his plan that had netted them their victory over the Griffon? She hadn't had any issues with him then.

"So, why do we need to talk?" he decided that trying to act like nothing was wrong was his safest option, since it meant Raven was forced to ask him and he could decide what he wanted to tell. Hopefully she didn't plan to force anything out of him.

"Let's start with the less important question. Why did you come to the village? We hadn't told you of the mission, so you couldn't have known." Raven stated, prompting Qrow to learn forwards on the table, taking a sip at his beer glass, instead of his flask. It didn't stop Summer from hitting him on the head each time, Tai laughing at each hit, which prompted Raven to level her glare at him in turn.

"I wondered why a team of your caliber would be out here, so while in the city I asked around a bit. Turned out a bartender remembered overhearing you talk about a Grimm attack on the village." Jaune explained, flashing Raven a smile as she pinched her nose. Summer's smile lit up at the mention of the bartender.

"Oh him! He was nice, except that he kept giving Qrow something to drink." she noted, suddenly grabbing Qrow's glass and keeping it out of his reach.

"Hey, what was that for?!" Qrow exclaimed, desperately trying to get his glass back. "I still planned on drinking that!"

"You already had one, and you emptied your flask today. You don't need any more than that." Summer's words had a finality to them, seemingly even Qrow not willing to argue with his partner. And then, to Jaune's shock, the man pouted. He pouted. The laughter he was trying to hold in clearly had different plans, as he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Shut up!" Qrow growled, his arm shooting across the table to grab Jaune, who leaned back in order to avoid the attempt. Having put too much force into leaning backwards, there was no stopping him from toppling over his chair. Qrow returned the favor with his own laughter, joined by Tai, Summer giggling and Raven simply smiling at the antics they put on display

"Focusing on the matter of hand, you heard of the attack and decided to come to help us?" Raven asked with interest, her smile never leaving her lips as her teammates kept laughing or smiling.

"Yeah. It sounded more appealing than practicing my landing strategy, and I thought it could be some good training," Jaune admitted, finding that his reasons were solid. "Didn't expect things to turn out as they did."

"We didn't either expect it to be an attack of this level," Summer said, her giggling having stopped and her smile not longer as big as it had been before. "I asked a woman earlier, and while she wasn't sure, she thought we could maybe find something in their library. She said the village had once been special, but that it had been forgotten outside of a book covering its history."

"That sounds like a better lead than anything we could ever hope to find. Let's check it out tomorrow!" Tai declared, enthusiastic as he punched his fist in his open palm.

"Don't think I'm done with you yet," Raven spoke with far more seriousness than earlier. Jaune had barely even moved, and she had reacted in an instant, her eyes following his every movement. "Tell me, Jaune, do you think it was coincidence that you brought up bad luck after you had tripped during the fight? I don't, since I think you bringing up bad luck makes very little sense. Neither does you knowing my brother's name make much sense."

He couldn't get out of this physically, because Raven would stop him immediately, and it would be counterproductive to his task.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth," Jaune decided to be completely honest. She would call him out if he lied, and this way he hopefully could get them to trust him. "I wouldn't believe it if anyone else would tell me the exact same thing."

He could see how the entire team took his words in, Raven glancing suspiciously at him and Qrow staring at him. Jaune shouldn't have been surprised, but he still was as Summer came to his rescue.

"I believe in you, Jaune. Maybe you'll tell us someday, but if you don't wanna tell, it's fine with us." Summer's words left room for debate, as a look that had very clear implication between her three teammates. A short silence settled over their table, with Qrow nearly putting his legs on the table, only for Summer to instantly push them away. Tai laughed, a common occurrence for the night, which earned him a punch on the shoulder from Raven. Glancing at her, Jaune could see that she didn't trust him, unlike during the battle, but that Summer's words had to mean a lot if she let the issue drop like she had.

"Wait, what do you mean someday, Summer?" Qrow asked incredulously, gaping as he looked to his partner. "I already gotta deal with one blond!"

Qrow wasn't alone in looking incredulously at Summer, Raven probably looking even more incredulous than her brother in Jaune's eyes. He still wasn't sure what had managed to put them in that state.

"They say the more, the merrier, right?" Tai injected in the conversation, all smiles and cheer, taking it in with a rather relaxed attitude. "And five is probably better than four."

Then it dawned on Jaune what they were talking about.

"You want me to stick with you?!" he exclaimed shocked, his hands slamming on the table. This was exactly what he wanted!

"Yes," the leader of Team STRQ said with a smile, never faltering. Then she turned her attention to the only one who hadn't voiced an opinion yet. "Raven, please?"

He could see how she tried to resist the puppy eyes Summer was giving her, but Raven's shoulder slumped in defeat after a moment.

"You know I don't like this, but I assume you won't budge on this?" Raven questioned, her mouth drawn in a line. "Very well. I'll not complain, but you'll have to prove yourself. One battle won't convince me."

"Thanks Raven!" Summer jumped out of her seat to latch onto the woman in question. "You're the best!"

Jaune thought he heard some mumbling that could resemble 'let go', but he thought he would be better off if he didn't bring it up. He couldn't understand how this Raven was at fault for part of the team issues.

"C'mon," Qrow spoke, nodding in the direction of the stairs that lead to the higher floors, Tai already walking ahead of them, with the other two even further ahead. "You'll be staying with me and Tai. Got a spare bedroll for you."

Jaune hesitated for a moment, before following the two men, who were trying to catch up to their partners. He was momentarily surprised by the chain events of the night, but he couldn't say he minded how things turned out. This was exactly what he needed. He was staying with Team STRQ.

* * *

 **And so Chapter 3 comes to an end. There're a few details to take note of from the chapter. Some, I'll explain here, others will be explained as we go.**

 **Weapons for everyone but Tai. The show shows Tai fighting without any weapons, which I decided to stick with here. Instead, I gave him a Semblance to compensate, in form of being able to extend the range of his attacks, at the cost of draining his Aura faster.**

 **Raven stays unchanged, though I gave her weapon, alongside Qrow and Summer's, a name. In this case, Masamune. It's a huge katana, so I thought it would work.**

 **Qrow's weapon is called Highwind, which is also why I have him be able to jump far higher naturally.**

 **Summer is the one I had to be the most creative with. Her weapon is a gunblade, based on the Revolver from Final Fantasy 8. Named it Revolving Rose, since it's originally called Revolver, and it mirrors Ruby. Her Semblance is simply to control rose petals.**

 **Anything else of importance will be expanded upon in the future. So, I hope you enjoyed. Like always, I appreciate any reviews. Until next time!**


End file.
